OSHP asks drivers to ‘Move Over’

Initiative is part of plan to protect emergency responders

Staff Report

OHIO VALLEY – The Ohio State Highway Patrol is asking motorists to help keep their fellow drivers and law enforcement officers safe by following Ohio’s “Move Over law.”

From 2011-15, Ohio State Highway Patrol cruisers were involved in 67 crashes that appear be related to the move-over law. These crashes resulted in deaths of two civilians, 25 injured officers and 35 injured civilians.

Ohio law requires all drivers to move over to an adjacent lane when approaching any vehicle with flashing or rotating lights parked on the roadside. If moving over is not possible due to traffic or weather conditions, or because a second lane does not exist, motorists should slow down and proceed with caution.

Alcohol and/or drugs played a role in 28 percent of move-over crashes, and wet roads or those covered in snow or ice accounted for 63 percent of these crashes. The vast majority of crashes, 79 percent, occurred on interstate, U.S. and state routes. Troopers wrote more than 10,000 citations for violations of the move-over law from 2011-15.

According to the FBI, from 2005 to 2014, 97 law enforcement officers across the United States were struck by vehicles and killed while working.

“By moving over, motorists are helping to protect the lives of everyone who works on or uses our roadways,” Lt. Max Norris, commander of the Gallia-Meigs OSHP post, said. “It’s not just the law; it’s the right thing to do.”